Lafayette Historic District · National Register of Historic Places
Lafayette’s story
198 years in pictures
The archive holds 3 maps from 1950 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
- 1828Lafayette is settled
LafayetteVA
A regional job hub with 565 jobs.
1 bordering townMap →
Bowstring Truss Bridge · Photo: Skye Marthaler · CC BY-SA 3.0
Population
628
Census survey, 2020–24
Household income
$35K
median
Median age
42.7
years
Jobs based here
565
A job hub
Is Lafayette a good place to live?
34% of residents live below the poverty line in Lafayette, above both the Virginia town median (7.7%) and the median of U.S. towns (9.6%). Of the 254 Virginia towns we compare, none has a lower typical household income than Lafayette. Lafayette Historic District and Johnsville Meetinghouse is on the National Register of Historic Places. Lafayette has fewer than 1,000 residents, too few for fair grades; the figures below are still real.
What makes Lafayette stand out
Where Lafayette beats most towns.
Small town
628 people, and everyone knows the way
In a town this size, neighbors are the best guide. Ask them anything.
Nearby towns
EllistonLafayette
Nearby attractions
All 24 attractions →Appalachian Trail and 13 more within 40 miles
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Lafayette. Close and well known come first.
Big draw13 mi Park & preserveAppalachian Trail3.0M visitors a year
8 mi ParkwayBlue Ridge Parkway16.5M visitors a year
12 mi Stadium & arenaLane Stadium
20 mi LakeMountain Lake
39 mi LandmarkProject Greek Island
39 mi LakeSmith Mountain LakeSources: National Park Service · ski areas © OpenSkiMap / OpenStreetMap contributors · Wikidata · Wikipedia readership · photos via Wikimedia Commons
Photo credits
Appalachian Trail: Paulba. Original uploader was Paulbalegend at en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Blue Ridge Parkway: Ken Thomas, Public domain · Lane Stadium: User:B, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Mountain Lake: Rolfmueller, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Project Greek Island: Z22, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Smith Mountain Lake: Jay White, Public domain
Getting set up
Moving to Lafayette: who provides what
Lafayette is unincorporated, so Montgomery County and regional agencies provide most services.
PowerAppalachian Power17.2¢/kWh · EIA 2025HIFLD · EIA
Internet3 providers99% of addresses get 100/20 MbpsFCC
Trash & county servicesMontgomery CountyMontgomery County provides services here
Register to voteOnlineIn Virginia you can register online until 11 days before Election Day, in person up to and including Election Day, or by mail (postmarked 11 days before).vote.govWho runs elections hereMontgomery General RegistrarMontgomery County; contacts on the Handbook page.FVAP, Jun 2023
ZIP code2408724087 100%Census 2020
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Sep 30, 2026.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Lafayette.
Work & commute
With 3.3 jobs for every working resident, Lafayette draws in 558 commuters
Half of commuters travel less than 13 miles. For Lafayette, the typical journey to work is 23 minutes. Most working residents leave Lafayette for work: only 4% work in town. The top destinations are Christiansburg (19%), Salem (12%) and Blacksburg (12%).
4%work in town
| Lafayette | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 23 minutes | 27 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 4.1% | 4.9% | 8% |
Where working residents work
In Lafayette4%
Christiansburg19%
Salem12%
Blacksburg12%
Roanoke12%
13 mi
median commute distance
565
jobs based in Lafayette
A job hub
jobs vs. working residents
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Natural hazards
Lafayette stands out in Virginia and nationally: the FEMA risk score there is higher
FEMA puts 90% of Lafayette’s expected hazard losses down to inland flooding. Federal aid has come to Lafayette households in 2 declared disasters; the latest was in 2004. Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 83% of U.S. communities.
83risk score of 100
FEMA risk score
Inland flooding
2
federal disasters paid out here
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Climate
Lafayette has four seasons and pleasant summers
July afternoons reach 86°, January nights drop to 26° and about 18 inches of snow falls in a winter.
18″snow a winter
Typical low → high °F
Winter28–48°
Spring42–67°
Summer62–84°
Fall45–68°
Oct 28
typical first frost
Apr 11
typical last frost
+1.1°
vs. the 20th-century average
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Health
How healthy Lafayette is
The share of adults in Lafayette who worry about having enough food: 16%. 16% of adults in Lafayette report frequent physical distress; 19% report frequent mental distress.
| Lafayette | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 12% | 14% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 12% | 14% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 16% | 17% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 26% | 22% | 23% |
32 measures vs. Virginia
0 better21 too close to call11 worse
| What stands out | Lafayette | VA |
|---|---|---|
| More smokers | 18.6% | 12.2% |
| More adults with COPD | 9.4% | 6.2% |
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 16.8% | 11.1% |
Lewisgale Medical Center
9.7 mi away · emergency room
3 of 3
care shortages: primary care, dental, mental health
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Keep exploring
Everything we know about Lafayette
14pages on Lafayette
The big questions
Out and about
Day to day
After high school
Colleges nearby
5 within 15 miles of the center of Lafayette
Roanoke CollegeUniversity or college · Private nonprofit · Salem9.2 mi$38,068 tuitionVirginia Polytechnic Institute and State UniversityUniversity or college · Public · Blacksburg12.1 mi$15,948 in-state tuitionVirginia Western Community CollegeCommunity college · Public · Roanoke12.8 mi$5,400 in-state tuition
About 6 of every 100 Lafayette residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Virginia.
A job hub
Every workday, about 558 people come to Lafayette for work
Where Lafayette’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
565jobs based in Lafayette
4%of working residents work in town
13 mimedian commute distance
Census LEHD 2023
About Lafayette
Census-designated place in Virginia, US
Lafayette is a census-designated place (CDP) between the cities of Roanoke and Christiansburg in eastern Montgomery County, southwest Virginia, United States. As of the 2020 census, Lafayette had a population of 429. It is located adjacent to Elliston, at the confluence of the North and South Forks of the Roanoke River. The Lafayette Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1991.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 0.7 sq mi
Questions about Lafayette
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Lafayette, VA a good place to live?
Lafayette has fewer than 1,000 residents, too few for fair grades; the figures below are still real.